1. Area of the Art
The present invention is directed towards a device for improving the mobility of disabled persons.
2. Description of the Background Art
Disabled, injured or elderly persons often have limited mobility on their own, and need some form of support when walking or moving about. Mobility support devices are well known in the art, and provide varying degrees of support depending on the needs of a user. For instance, a cane or walker may provide minimal support to a user, whereas crutches support most of a user's weight. As might be imagined a large number of more or less complicated mobility support devices are known in the art. There is a large variety of wheelchairs and walkers (also know as “rollators”). A typical example of these devices is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,538,268 to Miller.
While these prior art devices can provide adequate mobility support for many a disabled, injured, or elderly user, they fail to adapt to the nature or severity of a user's disability, condition, or injury. Specifically, the support provided by prior art walkers, canes or crutches cannot readily be increased or decreased depending on the needs of a user. Further, the area of the user's body supported by these devices cannot be changed. For example, if a user needing minimal walking support injures his wrist, he would not be able to use a device providing support by way of the hands. The individual may, therefore, be required to use a device that provides support by way of the armpits, or even a wheelchair for total body support. However, such devices may provide more support than the user requires. After the user's wrist has healed, he might again need to use a different device, such as a cane or walker that operates by means of a user's hands, to provide the correct level of support. Consequently, it is an object of the current invention to provide a reconfigurable mobilizer which can allow the level and location of support to be adjusted based on the needs of the user.